An online community where writers can meet to talk about the art, joy and passion of mystery writing. Mystery Writers Unite will address issues that writers face to bring their "idea" to a novel; topics like: plot points, character building, editing, self-publishing, writer's block, basic writing tools and resources and author interviews. If you like mystery writing or just like to write, I hope you will visit often and share in our community.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Play Clue: the Juicy Bit

Colonel Mustard in the Library with the Lead Pipe. Do you remember Clue?
I'd like to play a game of Clue, sort of. But let's just do the juicy bit: the murder.

Person, place, weapon. If you are writing mystery, those three elements are an integral part of the plot and story. Even if you are writing the mystery as high-concept, at some point, someone is going to die at the hands of someone else.

I think now is a good time to explore the sister arts of shuffling someone prematurely off this mortal coil and deceiving the authorities. After prolonged exposure to family over the holidays, writers' thoughts must inevitably turn to murder... at least on paper.

So, tell me how you would 'kill' some of your 'favourite' relatives. Pseudonyms are encouraged to protect sweet old aunties who surf blogs from slicing you out of the will!

Rules are, it should be a relative (in honour of the Christmas season); details on how you would deceive the authorities are required; and, finally, give us a great setting!

Comment, and we will vote for the most creative, evil, funny or just plain shocking dispatch & cover.

Winner will receive a free copy of The Ophelia Trap, in a format of your choosing (up to and including a signed paperback). Why? Because I am out of chocolates and wrapping paper, that's why.

Voting will depend upon participation, as will date of announcement of the winner.

4 comments:

Poor Mrs. Peacock is browsing the music store on a bright and sunny Saturday afternoon when a woman corners her and slices her throat with a broken CD and she bleeds out in Country section - conveniently out of sight of the survellence camera. Of course they would suspect me because I always hated Mrs. Peacock but no one can suspect me if they think I'm a victim as well - with my blood covering the other half of the broken CD and I seem to have disappeared a few days before the old woman died. I couldn't have kill her if I was already dead right? Or maybe just living out my days in Central America...

Mrs. Scarlet saved up so long for that trip to Mexico but unfortunately not everyone was as excited for her vacation. While drawing her bath in the hotel room, she meets her untimely demise when someone switched her bath oil with arsenic and liquid detergent and she drowned in fitful agony. At first they suspected a bell boy or other staff member at the hotel of mixing the deadly concoction but the police ruled it as unsolved when no one in Mexico could be found guilty. It's a shame they didn't widen their search to the people with motive...